National Weather Service Training
Center

What is the Cooperative
Observing Program?

The Cooperative Observing Program has long history of service to
the nation. Its mission is two-fold:

To provide observational data (usually consisting of daily
maximum and minimum temperature and 24-hour precipitation totals)
required to define the climate of the United States and to help
measure long-term climate changes

To provide observational data in near real time to support
forecast, warning, and other public service programs of the
National Weather Service (NWS)

The cooperative observing program is the means by which the NWS
obtains observational data to support both the climate program
and its field operations. The program includes the selection of
data sites; recruiting, appointing, and training of observers;
installation and maintenance of equipment; station documentation;
observer payroll; data collection and its delivery to users; data
quality control functions; and the management of fiscal and.ASOShuman
resources required to accomplish program objectives.

A cooperative station is a site at which observations are taken
or other services rendered by volunteers or contractors who are
not NWS employees and who are not requried to take or pass
observation certification examinations. Automatic observing
stations are considered cooperative stations if their observed
data are used for services which otherwise would be provided by
cooperative observers. A cooperative station may be collocated
with other types of observing stations such as standard
observations stations, Flight Service Stations, etc. In these
cases, that portion of the station observing program which
supports the cooperative program's mission is treated and
documented independently of the other observational and service
programs.

Cooperative observers may serve on either a paid or unpaid basis,
depending on the type of services rendered and needs that must be
met. These services frequently consist of taking and recording
temperature and precipitation daily and reporting to the National
Climatic Data Center or an NWS office at the end of each month.
Many cooperative observers provide additional hydrological or
meteorological parameters, such as evaporation, and may telephone
or electronically transmit data to NWS offices or mail
observations forms weekly. Equipment used at NWS cooperative
stations may be owned by the NWS, by the observer, or by a
company or other government agency, as long as it meets NWS
equipment standards.